The holiday feast

We didn't hold back when creating this midday meal. Pesto smothers turkey with flavor, side dishes burst with freshness and spice, and desserts are rich. See the next slides for close-ups of our delicious dishes and links to recipes.

Turkey and sides to crave

Our main dish gets an extra sparkle of flavor from tomato pesto with herbs, salt and pepper slipped between the skin and meat of a turkey breast. The mashed potatoes mix yellow and sweet potatoes with a hearty combination of cream cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon and canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The Brussels sprouts are skillet-roasted and tossed with seasoned mushrooms.

A colorful burst of flavor

It takes time to peel and section or slice fruit for our holiday salad. But the result is a colorful burst of fresh flavor that's worth the effort. To save time, use 2-3 cups jarred, drained, sectioned citrus fruit in place of the 4 oranges. Cornmeal Dinner Rolls add a soft touch to the salad plate.

A special supper

Even after a big meal earlier in the day, families get hungry when the sun goes down. This supper satisfies with comforting Veggie-Cheese Chowder (left) or Smoky Chili, plus a light slaw salad that combines red cabbage, apples and red or green onions with a sweet-and-sour dressing. Just leave room for the final decadence -- chocolate pie (next slide).

Fantasy Chocolate Pie

Dream about all the ingredients you'd like to see in a dessert, and you'll see why we named this Fantasy Chocolate Pie. It's made with three kinds of chocolate pieces (milk chocolate, semisweet and semisweet-and-white-chocolate swirled)—plus coconut, pecans and almonds. For extra indulgence, top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Set the scene

Showcase your holiday meals with a pretty table setting. First, you can put red berries on wired stems to form a halo on purchased twig wreaths for chair backs. A yard of soft white fabric tied in a square knot dresses up each seat. Fat red ribbons with glued nametags hold wreaths in place.

Red-and-white cheer

Carnations peek from a rectangular glass vase covered with candy canes (attach candy canes to the vase with a glue gun; anchor flowers in floral foam). If you like, spray canes with coats of clear acrylic spray to avoid stickiness. Finish with ribbon and mint.

Gifts from the kitchen

Send your guests home with some gifts from the kitchen tucked in a festive box. Lemony Spritz Cookies, Chocolatey Shortbread Bites and Sugared Almonds will bring back fond memories of your perfectly decadent day.